Wire stretcher



Sept. 1, 1925. 1,551,585

I J. c SA'XTON v WIRE STRETCHER Filed April 5, 1924 2 sums-sheet 1 Sept. 1; 1925. 1,551,585

5 J. C. SAXTON WIRE STRETCHER I Filed. April 5, 1924 2 .Sheets-Sheet 2 gwwntoa Patented Sept. 1, 1925.

UNITED STATES,

' .rosnrn neuron, or mm, COLORADO;

, STBETCHER.

Application filed April- 3,

' cheap form of tool wherein the wire may be stretched in an extremely quicker manner and this without requiring any great exertion on the part of the operator than is now possible with similar tools upon the market.

An additional object of my invention is to provide a tool; of the above character wherein strands of wire may be stretched toward each otherifor allowing the same to be spliced o-r mended when a break occurs in a fence line.

With the above and other objects in view as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same comprises the novel form, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, shown in the accompanying drawings and claimed.

In the drawings whereinlike reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views and wherein there is shown the most practical embodiment of the invention with which I am at this time familiar,

Figure 1 is an elevationalview of a wire stretcher constructed in accordance with this invention, the same being shown as employed for drawing together the ends of a broken wire whereby said ends may be joined together,

Figure 2 is an enlarged detailed sectional view through the wire clamp membersforming an essential part of the present invention,

Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective of the operating lever of the wire stretcher per se,

Figure 4 is a similar view of one of the hook members carried by said operating hand lever for engagement with the links of a chain section that also comprises an essential part of my invention, and I Figure 5 is a bottom edge view of the clamp 12.

Now having particular reference to the drawings, a wire stretcher constructed in accordance with the present invention embodies a relatively long hand operating lever 19.24. Se-rial m. 703,962.

5 preferably ofa flat natureand formed at one end with a hand engaging portion 6-,the opposite end of thislever being formed with three spaced openings 7.

I Loosely positioned within the end ones of r said openings 7 are relatively long steel wire links 8, each of which carries at its outer end a relatively long hook, member 9, the hooked portions of which face each other as clearly shown in: Figure 1 for selee= h tive; engagement within the links of a' long chain section 10 also" shown in Figure l which comprisesan essential'part of. the

present invention.

Upon the outer end of said chain section u 10 1s a fence wire clamp 11, a somewhat similar form of fence wire clamp 12being also carried'by a steel wire link 13 loosely positioned within the central one of the openings 7 of said hand operating lever 5 and extending in a direction opposite to that of the before mentioned links 88. a

Each of the before mentioned fence wire clamps 11 anid 12 embody as clearly shown in Figure 2, a plate portion 14 upon one face of which is pivotally secured a locking element 15 through the medium of a transverse pivot bolt 16. p I

Upon the inner plane face of the locking element 15 and surrounding the opening therein provided for the reception of said pivot bolt 16 is a boss 17 that serves as a 'means forspacing the locking element 15 from the inner plane face of said plate 1 1. Beneath this boss 17 on the inner plane face of thelocking element 15 there is provided an inclined projection 18 for wedging the wire between it and the inner plane face of plate 14;.

From the foregoing it will at once be ap-' parent that when it is desired to draw the ends w and b, Figure 1, of a fence wire toward each other whereby the same may be spliced the wire clamp 11 upon the end of the chain section 10 is connected to the end of the strand (1 while the other clamp 12 carried by the link 13 is similarly connected to the other end Z) of said strand. Thehook= member carried by the uppermost link 8 of the hand operating lever 5 is engaged through one of the links of the chain section 10, after'which the handleis swung in i to the position shown in Figure 1 for consequently drawing the ends of the wire a and 6 toward each other. If it is desired to draw these ends still further toward each other the hook element 9 carried by the lowermost link 8 of the lever 5 is engaged through another one of the links of said chain section, after which the hand lever is moved in a reverse direction. It will thus be seen that a continuous operation as above set forth will effectively draw the ends of the broken fence wire toward each other to the degree desired.

The wire clamp members Hand 12 are each formed with an integral hook 11 and 12 respectively, whereby either one of these clamp members may be connected to a stationary object for allowing a fence wire to be stretched toward a post whereby the same may be rigidly secured thereto.

The boss 17 which is provided upon the locking element 15 holds the end portion of the said locking element spaced from the plane surface of the support 14. The looking element is further provided with the inclined surface 18 which is also spaced from the plane surface of the support. Therefore the-inclined surface may engage the wire and clamp the same against the plane surface of the support without danger of the locking element completely severing the Wire or cutting the same to such an extent that it will break during the operation of stretching the wire. The edge of the inclined surface can penetrate the surface of the wire a limited extent and sufficiently to get a bight upon the wire but the said edge will not completely sever or cut the wire.

What I claim as newand desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A wire stretching clamp comprising a body having a plane side surface, a pivot bolt passing through the body transversely of its plane surface, a locking element pivoted upon the bolt and having a plane surface adjacent the plane side surface of the body and spaced therefrom, an outstanding boss on the plane surface of the locking element which bears against the plane surface of the body and which spaces the two plane surfaces from each other, the said locking element being provided on its plane surface with an inclined projection. V

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JOSEPH C. SAXTON. 

